Using Library Designer - Find and Replace

Library Designer’s Find and Replace is a powerful and commonly used tool. It is useful for replacing formulas, locating orphaned global variable references, determining if products are referencing a particular global variable, or any time it is important to know that you've found every occurrence of a formula or prompt.

It is heavily recommended to create a backup copy of your factory database before experimenting with Library Designer’s Find and Replace tool.

To access the Find and Replace tool, click the Search button in the General tab of Library Designer.

Fig. 01 – Library Designer Interface – Search
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The Find and Replace interface will open.

Fig. 02 – Find and Replace Interface
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The checkboxes in the upper left allow you to designate which areas of the database to search.

Fig. 03 – Find and Replace Interface – Search In Checkboxes
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By default, all checkboxes are selected, providing a complete search of all Library database records. If you prefer to limit the search, first click the UnCheck All button to clear all checkboxes, then select the areas of the Database to focus your search. The UnCheck All button transforms to a Check All button when no selections have been made.

Fig. 04 – Search In Checkboxes
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You have the option to search in each of the following categories of records:

Just like in workbook designer, you can match your search inquiry either by Any Part, Whole Word, or Entire Cell. You also have the option to make the search case sensitive using the Match Case checkbox.

Fig. 05 – Find and Replace Interface – Match By Selection
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Input the text you would like to locate in the library into the Search text field.

Fig. 06 – Find and Replace Interface – Search Text Field
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Text entered in the Replace With field will replace Search text in the library data.

Fig. 07 – Find and Replace Interface – Replace With Text Field
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Use a basic text editor like Notepad to store your text and easily copy and paste into the Search and Replace With text fields

Clicking Search will start the database search process.

Fig. 08 – Find and Replace Interface – Search Button

Typically, the search process is completed quickly. However, you can click the Stop button during the search to abort if needed.

Fig. 09 – Find and Replace Interface – Stop Button
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Results of the search are displayed in the tree view on the left side of the Find and Replace interface.

Fig. 10 – Find and Replace Interface – Search Results Tree View
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Clicking the plus icon drills down to each individual matched item from the database. Once selected, the entire formula or data value will be displayed in the data display window to the right.

Fig. 11 – Find and Replace Interface – Data Display
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A list for each of the following entity types is displayed in the lower right corner of the Find and Replace interface:

When an item in the tree view is highlighted, all Parts, Products, or Subassemblies using the item are displayed in these lists. Any replaced text will be replaced for all entities listed.

Fig. 12 – Find and Replace Interface – Parent Lists
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Alternatively, you can right-click on a selected item then click Show Products/Subassemblies Using Item to show a separate Parent List window.

Fig. 13 – Show Products/Subassemblies Using This Item
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Clicking the Replace Checked Items button will replace the matching text of all records currently checked in the tree view with text from the Replace With text field.

Fig. 14 – Find and Replace Interface – Replace Checked Items Button
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Clicking the Find button highlights text in the data display window that matches your search text.

Fig. 15 – Find and Replace Interface – Find Button
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Clicking the Replace button will replace the matching text in the currently selected record with text from the Replace With text field.

Fig. 16 – Find and Replace Interface – Replace Button
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Clicking the Replace All button will replace the matching text in all records located in the search with text from the Replace With text field.

Fig. 17 – Find and Replace Interface – Replace All Button

Clicking the Undo Last button reverts the previous Replace action.

Fig. 18 – Find and Replace Interface – Undo Last Button